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The Berkshire Edge Audiocast – October 25

The Berkshire Edge LLC is a locally owned, regional publication. Our goal is to provide – regularly and in depth – content that truly reflects the life, interests and aspirations of this unusually rich and vibrant community.

Guided by respected journalistic standards, the principle of fairness, the quest for truth, a commitment to social, economic and environmental justice, and an abiding admiration for the independent spirit of the Berkshires, The Berkshire Edge offers in-depth local news reports and features, perspectives on the arts, wide-ranging commentary, and a comprehensive calendar of events – all written, illustrated, and, in some cases performed, with wit, intelligence, insight and humor.

This week:

1. We had a long article about the downtown Great Barrington parking problem — fact or fiction. Everybody complains that there’s no parking, but everybody manages to get a spot.

2. The drama at the Berkshire Museum over the sale of artworks continues. There’s a rumor that the sale of the art has been delayed, or than some of the pictures will be withheld, but in the meantime there’s a fundraising campaign going on called “Save the art, save the museum” and a lawsuit has been brought against the museum by the Rockwell children.

3. We have sent reviewer Ronni Monsky to the Columbia Film Festival, and she says it’s a very good festival. 40 films in eight days. This is really a top-flight film festival.

4. The “week of resistance” to the pipeline is going on. The protest has been brought into town, instead of staying out in Otis at the site of the pipeline. They are standing in front of TD Bank in Great Barrington to protest the bank’s investment in fossil fuels. TD is a Canadian bank, which has apparently invested heavily in the Tar Sands oil field and also in an intermountain pipeline. We will have an EdgeCast on this by the end of the week.

5. There was a ceremony at Town Hall in Great Barrington to honor four soldiers from south Berkshire County who had died in the service of their country. One had died in the second World War, one in Vietnam, and two in the war in Iraq, They were given the Massachusetts Medal of Freedman by Major General Gary W. Keefe, the adjutant general of the Massachusetts National Guard. No one mentioned that they “got what they had signed up for.” We have video with the story of the awards being given to the families.

6. Shannon LaNier and Jane Feldman, co-authors of “Jefferson’s Children: The Story of One American Family” were speakers last night in the W. E. B. Du Bois Educational Series at Monument Mountain Regional High School. Shannon LaNier is a sixth great-grandson of Thomas Jefferson and his slave Sally Hemmings. Jane Feldman is a photojournalist, author and activist. She is passionate about bringing untold history into communities like the Berkshires, and beyond. Shannon LaNier is an Emmy Award winning television host, media personality and author. Together, Feldman and LaNier wrote “Jefferson’s Children: The Story of One American Family.” The book follows LaNier’s journey to Monticello and beyond to uncover the history behind his heritage as a 9th generation descendant of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings, as well as to contact both the black and white descendants of Jefferson.

7. We had a story by a woman named Rita Dichele who is homeless, and she gave a personal explanation of how she became homeless after being middle-class all her life. This followed a walk last week, arranged by the organization Construct, which works with homeless people and helps to find them homes. Ms. Dichele is, in fact, now living in a Construct apartment.